Another day, another patent: according to this one, Apple wants to incorporate a book-case (which you might just recognise from iBooks) into OS X’s app launcher. Is this another sign that Apple’s slowly drawing its operating systems together, or just the latest in a long, long line of patents out of Cupertino?
The patent describes a multi-level, 3D dock that should look quite similar to the one already used to house your virtual tomes in iOS. The patent (in true Apple style) doesn’t just limit itself to one facet either; it also describes auto-sort and search features. Truth be told, it looks like it would provide a small bump in functionality over the current Launchpad; whether it makes it into production, or remains as another entry in Apple’s patent inventory, remains to be seen. [PatentlyApple via TechCrunch]
Image credit: Patented from Shutterstock













Google's Chrome OS is Morphing Into Windows 95
Carbon Fibre Bookshelves Are Novel Objects of Lust
Transforming Lamp Morphs Into a Table For Emergency Cocktail Parties
No – it is just another stupid patent. It’s a drawing, not original – they have been around since man scratched pictures on a cave wall with a bit of charcoal.
So it will be granted and we will all have to bow down and pay to Cupertino everytime we want a bookcase in our apps.
So they have patented using a bookcase metaphor as a menu? If so I’d like to say WTF, I really don’t know any more, is Apple or the US patent office the bigger bunch of fuck-tards? I’m guessing the patent office, but I just don’t know. What I do know is that 1000′s of children’s lives could have been saved with the money a charitable-less Apple squander on patents, they should at least give twice the amount of every patent bill to a good fucking cause, I mean how many people around the world starve because a business hoards $120billion – and nothing wrong with making billions, but hoarding billions is a crime against humanity – ask Bill-fucking-Gates. The cost of vaccinating a child is around $2, so $120billion divided by $2 = saving almost ten times more people that are on this lousy rock.
http://img.moonbuggy.org/orson-welles-clapping/
It’s their estimated ‘value’, not what they have in the bank just sat there.
It’s not an estimated value – Apple are liquid to the sum of $120billion, that means they have $120billion in the bank, or elsewhere knocking around.
‘Or elsewhere knocking around’? Could you be any less specific
You got Google? One search shows me that in 2011 they had more money in the bank than the USA at $76B, then at the start of 2011 they had $97B, they ain’t spending cash and making over $20B per year in pure profit – so they have around $120B in bank currently, is that more specific? Let’s just type that number out to be more specific – $120,000,000,000 in the bank.
You’re citing Google as your reference? You’re the gift that just keeps on giving.
WTF – these are official figures throw around all major technology sites. The figures cited are from a BBC news article that is real easy to find, you should really be on that already rather than pretend at other realities. If you can find one reference that states otherwise then you have a point, otherwise your comments are without a point, they are pointless. I may not be up to speed on web technologies – what website indexing service do you use that is getting you better results than Google?